Stupid
by meg524
Summary: Had Bialya really affected Artemis as much as it affected him? Was Artemis being nicer to him? Wally's scientific brain can't put the pieces togther. Wally's POV
1. Chapter 1

The young speedster found himself cooped up in his room on a rainy Saturday afternoon. The team had a mission the previous day that lasted through to the morning. It was a simple mission really, try to find the exact location of an underground venom exchange. Batman knew roughly that it was on the northern part of Cuba but the specific coordinates eluded him. That was where the team came in. As an undercover mission it went fairly well. There were a few bumps where Superboy got frustrated and decided to punch a window but Miss Martian using her telekinesis made it look as though a very powerful wind was the cause. Artemis and Aqualad eventually found the location and the team made a quiet retreat.

They arrived at the cave at two in the morning, exhausted Robin imported the information to the Bat cave and everyone decided to crash in the mountain's spare bedrooms. The next morning Robin had already left for Gotham getting an urgent message from Daddy Bats. He left a note in the kitchen. Wally was bummed his best friend couldn't have stuck around longer. He had been looking forward to breaking in his new Call of Duty game with his genius hacker friend. Aqualad had returned to Atlantis for a little rest and rehydration. Megan had convinced Conner to go see a manatee showing of this new girlie flick that came out. Normally Wally would have tried to tag along, get a good seat next to Megan but he really couldn't stand chick flicks. So that left him alone in the Cave with Artemis. Wally had considered going back to Central City but the teleporter dropped him off on the opposite side of the city from his house and he really didn't want to run in the rain. At speedforce that can really hurt.

Wally then with the limited options around him forced himself back into his room. He knew that Artemis was wondering the Cave, not hearing the loud teleporter tell him otherwise, and he really wasn't in the mood to bump into her and have a row about useless topics like his personality or the fact that his costume hurt her eyes. He couldn't start arguing with her because frankly Wally didn't know if he could control himself. Ever since the team had returned from Bialya Artemis had been making Wally feel different.

Now whenever Wally saw Artemis around a wave of nausea would rush over him. Like that time he had eaten that bad calamari at a cheap Japanese restaurant. He couldn't look at her face without his stomach spasming and his heart sputtering out of control. At first Wally had convinced himself that it was because the sight of her ugly face made him want to vomit but being the "intelligent" boy that he was that excuse quickly lost merit. Looking for the real answer Wally turned to the only thing he trusted...science. He quickly broke down his symptoms, data, scenario, occurrences and variables and plugged it in with the scientific method. Finally the conclusion was shoved in his face: He had a crush on Artemis.

" Ugh" Wally groaned into his pillow. Just thinking it made him sick. Well that and he hadn't eaten in, he checks the clock, two hours. A mental debate came before him. Should he 'a' suffer in his room from increased hunger pains yet be completely safe from seeing...her, or should he 'b' run quickly to the kitchen, ravage the fridge, then bolt back to his room, yet run the risk of running into Artemis. Option 'b' was looking better and better as each passing second went by. Finally Wally sighed, got out of bed and made a dash out of his room.

Wally made it to the kitchen in less than two seconds and begins to attack the poor defenseless refrigerator. He stops abruptly when he hears little clicks coming from the living room. He looks up with half a bagel in his mouth and scans the area.

There he spotted Artemis facing away from him on the couch. He shifted slightly to get a good look of her. Artemis was sitting cross-legged, in civilian garb, holding an arrow in one hand and a small metal tool in the other. He eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as she was slowly screwing in a tiny appendage on to the side of the trick arrow. On the coffee table under her was her whole arsenal of arrows spread out with various tools and chips sprinkled on top of them. She was obviously very focused otherwise Wally was sure she would have made some snappy comment on his rather loud eating habits.

Wally finished the bagel in his mouth. Another dilemma sprang in front of him. Wally was pretty full now and had completed his mission on refilling his 'hp' bar yet he didn't feel like going back to his room. Being the speedster that Wally is, just lying on his bed wasn't an activity that would hold his attention. He needed a distraction from all these Artemis thoughts. Then Wally noticed it, the TV remote that was "conveniently" right next to Artemis' arrows on the coffee table. Would TV really distract him from the person that was in the same room? Not coming up with an answer or another possible activity, Wally conceded and walked casually to the couch, picked up the remote and turned it to 'The Flaming C ' his favorite cartoon.

Wally sat as far away from Artemis as possible and waited for her to comment about the noise from the TV and how it's distracting her from the adjustments she is making on her arrows. When no such comment came Wally frowned. Was she really that concentrated on her work or was she not bugging him to bug him? Wally studied her face to see if she was trying to hide a smirk. He leaned instinctively, eyes squinted looking for any sign of masked emotions. He saw none but then abruptly Artemis turned, obviously feeling Wally's eyes on her.

"What?" She said curiously, granted abrasive but Artemis hadn't snapped at him.

Wally blinked as he pulled out of his concentration. "Uh Nothing" he muttered, darting his eyes back at the TV where the Flaming C was performing an impressive acrobatic feat. Artemis studied him for a few seconds, shrugged, then went back to her work.

Wally frowned again as he stared at the TV not really paying attention to the dashing hero. Why was she being so...so … polite with him? Normally Artemis would have said something along the lines of 'What the hell are you looking at Baywatch?' to which Wally probably would have retorted 'Just wondering why your bothering to fix your arrows if you can't even shoot straight'. Which would have lead to an all out bitch contest ending when Artemis got fed up with Wally's antics and stormed out of the room. Why hadn't that happened? Had Bialya really affected Artemis as much as it had affected him? Was Artemis being nicer to him? Wally sank lower into the couch as these thoughts swirled around his scientific brain with only one conclusion forming: No TV had not distracted him at all.

"What's got you all deflated Baywatch? You're usually more...energetic than this" Artemis inquired as she noticed Wally slump lower into the couch, his face covered in confusion.

She did it again! She had paused, visibly paused and called him energetic. Artemis could have probably come up with a million more insulting adjectives than 'energetic'. This just wasn't making any sense! Wally turned his head towards Artemis and noted how much closer he had gotten to her in the last few minutes, only half a seat cushion away to be precise. Had he been unconsciously moving closer to her? Like in those lame TV sitcoms like 'Hello Megan'. Wally could punch himself for pulling such a move on Artemis.

"Wally?" Artemis repeated again after he didn't answer her, slight concern spilling through her voice.

She touched his shoulder when he again stayed silent. Like a jolt of electricity Wally was pulled from his thoughts.

"No! Uh Nothing, I'm just thinking about ...stuff" Wally finished lamely. As if the world was snapped back into focus Wally heard everything again. The clicking of Artemis' tools as she continued her work, satisfied with his answer. The dishwasher running behind him. The slight buzz from a light bulb that was having difficulty working and especially the obnoxious commercial about brightly colored ice cream that could give children all the powers of the Flaming C which frankly was just poor marketing strategy.

Annoyed, Wally grabbed the remote and hit the mute button to silence the flying children and shifted slightly to get a better view of Artemis. She looked up from her arrow, noticing the lack of noise coming from the TV and turned to Wally.

"Commercial" He muttered. "So..." Wally started, wanting for some reason to talk with Artemis. But about what? His mind went blank.

"So?" Artemis repeated back, a quizzical look on her face, half amused, half questioning. Wally froze he had no idea what to say. Desperately he scanned the area around him, once again noticing how he was closer to Artemis. When in the hell was he doing this? He spotted the arrow in her hand. It had a sharp tip but with a cone over it with four prongs coming out at angles that turned in. Wally wondered why Artemis would need an arrow for that. So as a curious man of science Wally stated his inquires out loud.

"What's with the tip of your arrow?" Crap! He hadn't meant for it to sound so rude. Wally sounded like he was talking down to her...again. But he swore he wasn't trying to this time. Artemis blinked a couple of times, surprised he would take an interest in this kind of stuff.

" Green Arrow showed me how to make it" She plucked the tip off the arrow and handed it to Wally so he could have a better look at it. He stiffened when their hands touched but got over it quickly. On closer examination he saw each prong was angled the same way with a screw, and as he tested it, could adjust the angle slightly. He also saw four little pads on the end of each prong. Wally's, now genuine, curiosity grew.

" Remember when the league had to face off against Bizarro, you know? That idiot who has the same powers as Superman. Green Arrow invented this on the sly to hold the kryptonite that Batman kept on him. These prongs allowed him to securely hold the kryptonite without it falling off when he shot it at Bizarro's chest" Artemis explained, leaning forward with him, her fingers pointing at the traction marks on the little pads. Her forehead now mere centimeters from Wally's. He noticed and felt a blush creep over his face.

" See these groves?" She stated a warm smile shining on her face that Wally couldn't help but mirror. God she was beautiful.

"Yeah" Wally said slowly almost slurred. He stiffened. Did his voice really sound like that? He sounded like a lovesick puppy or a drunk girl watching 'Twilight' or both! He wanted to cover his face in shame but Artemis' fingers was still on the tip that he was holding. She didn't seem to notice his tone and continued her explanation.

"I had to use a laser to get them that way. The machine was really tricky I messed up five pads before I got it right"

"Well they look great" Wally complimented. Genuinely proud of her. Artemis blushed her eyes turning from the tip to lock onto Wally's. Once she noticed the proximity between them, her blush increased, turning deep scarlet in the process but she didn't pull away.

Suddenly Wally felt it. This gravitational pull that seemed to push himself millimeter by millimeter closer to Artemis and her full now parted lips. He felt the wave of nausea overcome him again and the panic race in his heart. What was he doing? This was Artemis, Artemis! Sure he had a crush on her but it didn't mean anything. It wasn't one of those crushes you acted on. It's just those feelings you get for a couple of weeks and then move on. He had felt it hundreds of times. Besides Artemis wasn't into him like that! She was digging Superboy, he heard her checking Superboy out himself. She didn't like him. He thought in protest. Then the words sunk in. She didn't like him, he told himself more firmly the hurt of that statement making his stomach wrench.

Wally paused for a split-second. He should pull back. Pull away and leave the room rather than face the humiliation of being rejected. Then he noticed that Artemis was leaning. Ever so slightly, millimeter by millimeter Artemis was leaning in. Her eyes half shut and barely focused. She...she wanted to do this! With new found gusto Wally began to lean in again until they were as close as they could be without touching. Their lips brushing, he could feel her hot breath on his face. It felt amazing. Wally mentally readied himself. He closed his eyes completely, lips parted. All he had to do was lean and-

"Your show is back on" Artemis said in a hollow voice. Her face pulled away as she quickly fumbled for her arrow, ripping the tip out of his hand and avoiding eye contact she continued her work.

Wally's eyes opened immediately. The sting of her rejection washed over him like waves. He pulled back and scooted three couch cushions away from her. How could he have bee so stupid? Of course she wouldn't have kissed him, what was he thinking? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! He wanted to cry, something that hadn't happened since his bike got smashed by that garbage truck five years ago. He looked at the TV. She wasn't lying, the Flaming C was onscreen again but Wally didn't care.

He clicked the power button on the remote and zoomed out of the room not bothering to give Artemis an explanation. He found himself at his door and ripped it open. Slamming the door shut Wally paced around for two seconds then out of nowhere punched the wall viciously, not feeling the pain. He then collapsed onto his bed and let the silent tears run down his face. Stupid he thought. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!


	2. Chapter 2

Artemis was furious. How could she have been so stupid! Kaldur almost died because she couldn't get her act together. During the teams mission in Cuba, Artemis and Aqualad had found the buyer of Kobra Venom, a small steroid company that, based on the conversations they overheard, seemed to have a connection with Lex Corp. They had followed the buyers to an old white building along the northern coast that Artemis recognized was used for the slave trade in the 1800's and was quite abandoned.

They had snuck into the building to confirm their suspicions and were to retreat after they saw the shipment. At least, that had been the plan. Unfortunately Miss Martian had chosen that moment to loudly sputter a wave of apologies and panics about Superboy breaking a window or something. Aqualad and Artemis gasped loudly from the abrupt onslaught of hysteria entering their brains. Miss Martian was asking for advice on how to cover up the incident but sadly never received an answer. At that moment one of the guards had heard them and was coming closer to their hiding spot behind some industrial crates.

Artemis had nocked her arrow immediately and turned her head to Kaldur, her face asking silently whether she should risk taking a shot. Kaldur turned his head down to asses the situation for a moment then looked up and nodded once. Artemis nodded back and turned her head to the approaching target. Her eyes narrowed as she slowly brought back her trick arrow, silent knockout gas, and adjusted her stance. She breathed and released hitting the second of two stacked crates right above the guards head. He had gasped as the arrow whizzed passed him and turned his head quickly, scanning the area for the source. Artemis' eyes grew as the gas did not release. Shit! She thought. She had just blown their cover for nothing. She had put Kaldur and the whole mission in danger because she hadn't checked to see if her arrow was working. Oliver and Roy would have _never _let that happen. Okay focus Artemis! You can beat yourself up later, she thought.

Artemis ducked lower and turned to Kaldur. 'What do we do?' She mouthed. Aqualad scanned the area around them, noting how the guard was getting closer and closer to their position. He spotted a vent directly above them and nodded his head toward it and mouthed in return 'Retreat'. He was right Artemis thought. They had seen the shipment, it was time to go. He gestured for her to go first. She breathed deeply and waited until the guard had his back toward them. Silently as possible she unscrewed the vent cover and slid in. She scooted forward as fast as possible to give Kaldur some room. When she had crawled for two minutes she noticed Aqualad wasn't behind her. She turned around and started to crawl back slowly. Then Artemis heard it. Bang! A gunshot and a grunt. Then a whole bunch of yelling. Artemis stiffened and began to panic but then saw Kaldur limping towards her , crawling very slowly as he clutched his side, deep red almost purple Atlantean blood oozing slightly from the wound. Artemis stifled a gasp as she made to move forward and help him. Kaldur shook his head and pointed, silently telling her to keep going forward. She didn't protest but moved slower to allow for him to keep up.

As they were crawling, Artemis closed her eyes and concentrated. _Megan? Megan can you hear me?_. She thought hoping to reach the green martian. A few seconds later. _Yes, I hear you Artemis. Don't worry about the Superboy incident. I fixed it. You see I- _Artemis cut her off. _Megan I need you to focus. Kaldur and I discovered the location of the venom transaction. I need you to bring the team and the bioship in camouflage mode and meet us at this location. _Artemis sent a mental image of the building to Megan hoping she would hear the urgency in her voice. _Coordinates received were on our way. _Artemis sighed in relief and continued to crawl to the exit. Finally she and Kaldur reached the end both hiding in the brush on the beach. Artemis chose this moment to examine Kaldur's condition.

"What happened?" She whispered putting her hand on the wound to look at it more closely.

"The-the guard saw me crawling into the vent and shot at me," Kaldur explained, breathing heavily as he collapsed into Artemis. She caught him and cradled his head.

Kaldur lifted his hand and found his side, he began to dig his fingers into his wound searching for the bullet.

"Wha-what are you doing?" She half whispered half shrieked as she froze panic stricken not comprehending what she saw. He hissed and finally pulled out a small brass-like object from his side and dropped it into the sand.

" I needed to remove the foreign object before I begin to heal myself" He stated simply in Kaldur's always calm leveled voice.

Before Artemis could form the obvious question, Kaldur lifted his arm in the direction of the ocean and glowing water flew from it and swirled over the gash on his side. After a few minutes the levitated water collapsed on the sand and Kaldur's skin had a small scar but otherwise looked completely healed.

Artemis' jaw was open, her face awestruck as she stared down on what she considered nothing short of a miracle. Aqualad stat up and out of Artemis' lap and turned toward her. He was just about to speak when _We're here, _echoed in both of their minds. They both looked up as small dents appeared in the sand in front of them from a seemingly unknown source. Artemis moved to get up but Kaldur caught her wrist. She turned in slight surprise.

"I think it is wise if we do not tell the others about my injury. Everything is fine know and it would be pointless for them to be in delayed alarm," He paused momentarily "Especially M'gann"

Artemis stood still for a second then nodded understandingly as they both snuck towards the bioship, climbed aboard and all made their way to Happy Harbor.

By the time they had gotten home it was late, just past two in the morning. Aqualad had given Robin the coordinates to place into his wrist-computer. When they had reached the cave, Robin had sent those coordinates to Batman. With their mission complete everyone had decided to stay and they all collapsed into the spare beds, exhausted and satisfied. Everyone but Artemis.

She lied in bed, very much awake as she stared at the ceiling. Artemis was extremely upset with the way she had performed on the mission. She had been stupid, careless, unresponsive and most of all useless to a hurt teammate. When was the last time she did a thorough check of her arrows? Artemis screwed her face up in concentration. A month, nearly a month. What the hell was wrong with her? She should be checking at least once a week if not more. If only her arrow had worked, Kaldur would have never been shot at. He would have been perfectly fine and not had to rely on himself for his own safety. She did nothing, nothing! Those words sunk in. Her father would have done nothing. If a fellow shadow had gotten hurt on a mission her father would have not even turned around to look at them. He would keep going acting as though he never had a partner. Was she that much like her father?

No! No! No! She thought Kaldur acted so fast to protect himself. She couldn't have done anything. She didn't have time to react. Excuses! She thought in protest. That's exactly what her father would say. Lies! She thought. He would word lies as calmly as he would kill. She wasn't like him. She was _exactly_ like him.

Exhausted with her self-inflicted mental debate Artemis slowly fell into a dreamless sleep.

Artemis awoke in the late morning and got out of bead immediately. The thought of staying in her room, confined to her own antagonizing thoughts, made her antsy. She changed into some civilian garb and left the room quickly. She speed-walked towards the mission room on the way to the kitchen when she spotted Aqualad on his way towards the transporter. She did a quick U-turn and ran towards him.

"Kaldur! Kaldur wait!" She yelled before he could go home to Shayeris.

She caught up to him and started to apologies profusely. " I am so sorry that my arrow didn't work on the mission. Are you still okay? Your wound didn't open up did it? It was stupid, careless and unprofessional. Do you need to be examined? Again I am so sor-"

She quieted when Kaldur put his hand up signaling for her to stop. He had a warm smile on his face as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Artemis," He said in his formal tone. "I did not become injured by any fault of your own. We cannot hope to factor in everything when in a high stress situation like a mission. Complications occur and we must adjust. You handled yourself as best you could. You called M'gann when I did not have the mental strength to do so and everything worked out with the best possible outcome. My wounds are fine thanks in no small part to you,"

Artemis pulled a small smile when she heard him repeat the words he said at the end of their first mission together.

"Okay," she sighed. "I guess I was just overeating." Artemis admitted as she looked up at him.

"That's fine" He said and turned towards the transporter. "Hope you have a good day" As he lifted his hand to wave. Artemis waved back.

_Recognize Aqualad B02. _The computer announced and with that he was gone.

Artemis turned towards the kitchen feeling slightly better as she made her way to the fridge hoping for a yogurt. Miss Martian entered, an ecstatic expression graced her face as she made her way to the fruit bowl on the counter, grabbing an apple. She stifled a squeal as she jumped up and down.

Artemis raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at her lips. "What's got you all chipper this morning?"

"I have a date!" Megan blurted. She giggled and nearly dropped her apple. "I convinced Conner to go see a movie with me, a matinee. Were going to see The Final Kiss. Isn't that fantastic?" She looked elated.

Artemis' smirk grew as she decided to be a little devious. "Wow. The Final Kiss you know I've wanted to see that movie. Can I join you guys?"

Immediately Megan's smile faded. She looked like she couldn't decide what to do. Be Miss Manners and invite her friend along because she asked or try to convince Artemis that the date was a private thing. Her morals and desires showed obvious confliction over her face. "Well..." She began.

"Megan, I'm kidding!" Artemis said as she laughed a little. "You know I hate romantic movies. I'm just messing with you,"

"Oh," Megan said as she blinked a couple times, processing the joke. "You know its weird. When I told Wally he didn't jump at the opportunity to come along like I thought he would. He just mumbled 'chick-flicks' and walked away to find Robin"

"Hmm that is very anti-Wally behavior. Wonder whats with him," Artemis mused as she continued to devour her yogurt.

"Yeah he's been acting mopy ever since we got back from Bialya" Megan contemplated. "Oh it's almost time for the movie! I got to go get Conner. Bye Artemis," Megan yelled as she flew out of the kitchen.

Ugh. Artemis thought. She just had to bring up Bialya. The awkwardness that was Bialya. Artemis had given away so much in Bialya. She had nearly blown her cover and now every time she looked at Wally she couldn't help but feel that he knew something's up. Like he could read through her. Call her out in front of the team because that ninja boyfriend excuse she used was absolute bullshit! But Artemis had calmed herself. If he had smelled a rat surely he would have said something by now? Besides he wasn't that smart. If anything he thought the ninja boyfriend thing was some sort of backhanded way to flirt with him. Which was ridiculous! But Artemis wasn't going to correct him. Let him believe what he wants to believe as long as he kept it to himself.

Artemis was immediately reminded of the mission last night and had the urge to get her quiver and go through every single arrow to inspect and update. She was about to go down the hall to get her tools when she heard something.

"What? Come on!"

Artemis turned in the direction of voices down the hall. It sounded like Wally.

"Hey duty calls, besides you can always play it on your own," That was Robin.

"Yeah but with you I can get so much farther. I don't have your amazing gaming skills" Wally was whining. God what a baby.

"I'm touched, truly and I'm sorry but Batman said now" Robin said with a hint of smugness.

_Recognize Robin B01 _the computer announced followed by Wally's rather loud groan and started walking in the opposite direction.

"Oh hi Wally" came Megan's cheerful voice followed by Conner's simple "hey."

Wally mumbled something Artemis couldn't hear.

"Okay" Megan had responded. "Well have fun" she said. Wally, it sounded, had zipped away.

_Recognize Miss Martian B05 Superboy B04._ Artemis sighed. Great. She was all alone at Mt. Justice with Kid Mouth. She supposed she could go home, work on her arrows there but her mom would distract her and nag Artemis about her homework. Nah. She'll just stay.

Artemis went to her room and picked up her quiver, arrows, and tool kit and made her way to the living room. She spread out her supplies on the coffee table and picked up her first arrow and began to examine it. Artemis would make adjustments with a few, test some, and improve others. With every arrow she completed Artemis felt more and more relaxed and more in control of her life. She was about halfway through when she heard a zipping noise come into the kitchen followed by a rather loud chewing sound that Artemis guessed was a hungry Wally.

Normally his antics would bother her but Artemis was too engrossed in her work to pay him any mind. She picked up her next arrow. The tip had four small arms and traction pads to hold a variety of objects, though its original purpose was for kryptonite. She smiled remembering when Green Arrow had told her his Bizarro story. She had spent three days working on that tip to mimic Green Arrows, though she had made some minor adjustments. He was very impressed with the results and they had gotten Chinese food to celebrate after patrol.

Artemis was snapped from her thoughts when she felt the couch shift. She guessed it was Wally and continued to re-screw an arm. She heard the TV turn on and the 'Flaming C' announce in a loud voice the plot of tonight's upcoming episode. This arm was being really tricky, it refused to lock in, Artemis leaned forward, face twisted as she tuned out the TV and the rest of the world, trying to accomplish a difficult engineering feat. Finally the part snapped into place and she stretched her back up again, satisfied. Suddenly she got an uncomfortable feeling running up her back she turned her head towards Wally, surprised to see him glaring at her! He had leaned forward his face scrutinized and he was glaring at her like she had done something wrong! Artemis needless to say was taken aback.

"What?" she said curiously, she almost laughed his face looked so weird all contorted like that.

Artemis saw Wally pull back and mutter some excuse. He turned back to the TV and avoided her gaze. Artemis blinked. Her left eyebrow raised she wondered what on earth that was about. Then again Wally had been acting differently lately. Whenever she saw him he acted all nervous and shifty. At first she thought it was cause she scared him after the whole 'someone sent me to kill you' comment she made but after a while Artemis thought it could be something else. She remembered how after a particular mission debriefing she felt a shiver in the back of her neck and turned around to see what it was. There she saw Wally smiling at her, like a lovesick puppy! She thought for a second that he was staring at Megan but she was in the opposite direction. Once she caught him he quickly turned away and looked at Batman but a thought had occurred to her. Was Wally into her? The idea was pushed to the back of her brain. That's ridiculous she told herself. Wally hates her, if anything he had a massive crush on Roy the way he clung to the guy. But Artemis couldn't let the idea go away as over the weeks she kept catching him looking at her.

Okay focus Artemis! She went back to her work, now adjusting the second arm but her heart wasn't in it now. Frankly the thought that Wally might be into Artemis had made her heart skip a beat. She forced herself not to blush. Honestly it was ludicrous the way her stomach was doing back flips just because he was looking at her. She knew she shouldn't feel like that but ever since Bialya, the nice way Wally had treated her just couldn't leave her mind. Two weeks ago Artemis had looked at the facts and had faced the conclusion: I have a crush on Wally. At first she hated herself for admitting it but Artemis was a big girl, a tough girl and if she could take on the League of Shadows she could admit she had a crush, even if it was on Wally.

She noticed that the TV was making obnoxious noises anymore. She looked up and saw it was muted and turned to Wally.

"Commercial" he said. Wait! When did he get that close? Artemis could have sworn he was at the opposite side of the couch last time she checked. Was he-was he pulling a move on her? Artemis went into panic mode. Oh no! No! No! No! She can't do it. She can't get together with this boy. Not with everything that's going on, not with her father and Cheshire, Batman, being a double agent., new school. She can't a boyfriend to her plate. What if he finds out about all the horrible things she did in her past? Would he still accept her as a hero as a girlfriend? Artemis didn't want to find out.

"So..." Wally started. Instantly Artemis turned, all thoughts of her past quickly leaving her mind. He wanted to start a conversation with her. About what? She didn't care. Artemis' full attention was on him. He seemed to be pulling away, second guessing himself. Artemis prompted him to continue.

"So...?" She repeated with a question, trying to give him an attentive cute face and hopefully he'll gain his courage back.

"What's with the tip of your arrow?" He said. Artemis was shocked, he wanted to talk about archery? Fine she thought and mentally shrugged. She took the tip of the arrow and gave it to him for a closer look. She tried to ignore the tingling sensation that ran through her when their hands touched. Just ignore it Artemis!

She explained the story behind the tip about Green Arrow and the League's adventures with Bizarro. Artemis couldn't help but smile at the fond memory of her Oliver and awesome take-out. After Artemis finished the story she went into her ideas for the re-design and the troubles she had to go through.

"Well they look great" Wally said and Artemis couldn't help but blush at the compliment. He just complimented her! Granted it wasn't about her looks or personality but a compliment was a compliment.

Artemis turned her eyes towards Wally to smile. She was about to say a thank you when she noticed how close they had gotten in the last few minutes. The blush on her cheeks grew and she saw one begin to appear on Wally's freckled cheeks. He had noticed too. Artemis wanted to pull away but somehow she couldn't bring herself to do so. He smelled amazing and she found herself going half-lidded in sensation. She half noticed Wally seemed to pull closer towards her and she leaned too in response.

They were now as close as they could be without taking the final step. Artemis felt a tingly sensation run through her lips and down her neck. _Father. _Suddenly her eyes snapped open. What is she doing? Artemis think! You are using him just like your father used your mother! Think how heartbroken mom was whenever his name was mentioned. Do you want to do that? Do you want to be the cause of that pain? _No. _Artemis thought, and as much as it would bring him pain now there would be so much worse pain coming if she let them get close. Artemis pulled herself back and darted her eyes towards the TV. 'The Flaming C' was fighting some villain.

"Your show is back on" she said. God was that her voice? It sounded so empty. She turned her eyes downcast. She didn't want to see the pain in his. She felt him move away and heard the click of the TV turn off. Without warning their was a rushing sound and Artemis knew he had left. She dropped her arrow and tip and put her hands over her face. She started to cry slowly and quietly with a loud gasp here and there.

Artemis heard a loud slam from a door and figured Wally had made it back to his room. She heard the second slam and felt her tears increased as Artemis realized just how much pain she had inflicted. _Just like your father_. Her own mind taunt her, and with that she lost it and collapsed into the couch. _Daddy's little girl. _


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: This is a much shorter chapter but I thought it best to end it where I did. I'm not completely satisfied with this one. To me it's my least favorite out of all three. Reviews are nice but not required. Enjoy.**

It had been a week since what Wally would call the 'incident' with Artemis. Needless to say the room always felt awkward whenever she was in it. Wally would dart his eyes and shift his body away from her, then strike a conversation with the nearest person in his vicinity. Usually Robin. It wasn't that Wally _hated_ Artemis now, not anymore than he already claimed, it's just he couldn't bear to see an evil knowing smirk spread across her now not so kissable lips. It would be like taking an extra punch in the face. He actually found himself more professional on missions, being less chatty and thinking before he spoke. Wally didn't want to give Artemis any reason to call out on him. His ego had taken enough of a beating thank you very much. The team had started to notice his different behavior and after a couple of days Robin dared to ask.

"Okay, what is with you lately man! You've been acting completely different," Robin said, as delicately as a thirteen year old egomaniac could.

Wally looked up from his Call of Duty game that he and Robin were currently dominating. An emotion flickered across his face that Robin couldn't identify. Wally shrugged and turned back to the screen, throwing a grenade. Robin's eyes narrowed behind his shades. Okay _way_ different. Wally never blew him off before. If anything Wally would talk for so long that Robin eventually ditched him because he was getting a headache. Robin paused the game and positioned himself to face Wally, showing an aura of seriousness. Wally turned towards Robin reluctantly, his eyes downcast.

"You're hiding something," Robin, ever the detective, stated bluntly.

Wally scoffed and tried to pull a face that looked like Robin was being ridiculous.

"Dude chill. Nothing's up okay. Drop it," Wally said defensively. He crossed his arms across his chest and slumped down in the couch.

Robin decided to change tactics. "Come on KF, look I know you and I know when somethings up. Were friends, right? So tell me. I can help," he replied sincerely.

Wally's eyebrows burrowed. Should he tell Robin? He is Wally's best friend, he could help. Robin's smart like that. But does he really want advice from a thirteen year old? That's kinda pathetic. Then again this whole tiptoeing around Artemis thing is pretty pathetic too. He sighed and looked up at his friend.

"Okay fine but not here,"

Robin nodded solemnly.

…

"So are you going to tell me or just test the strength of the linoleum?" Robin asked snarkingly from the bench in the cave's training room that had been locked up for the occasion. Wally was currently pacing back and forth between two bench presses, hands in pockets. Every few seconds he would turn to Robin with his mouth open as if to speak than shake his head and go back to his pacing. Robin at first found it extremely amusing to see his best friend so flustered but after the fifth time Robin shouted "Spit it out!"

"Shh not so loud, she'll hear you!" Wally whispered back immediately.

"She? Oh pray tell young Wallace, who is she?" Robin smirked with a proper accent.

Wally scowled and plopped down on the bench press across from Robin. He looked down at his folded hands for a second before blurting. "I almost kissed Artemis,"

Robin's mouth fell open. What did he just say? "What did you just say?"

Wally stood up his hands in his hair, his eyes still shot down to the floor. "I almost kissed Artemis" he repeated his voice sounded empty.

"When did this happen?" Robin asked trying to process the situation.

"I don't know, like, a week ago. That's not what's important here. I almost kissed Artemis and know I have no idea what to do. How to act around her. If I should bring it up. If I should let it be. If I want to let it be. I'm just so confused. I don't know if-"Wally stopped abruptly mentally slapping himself for almost finishing that last sentence. He sounded like a girl, so whinny and full of feelings. Wally didn't run around professing his love to some random hot person like the chicks at his school. No. He was the cool, smooth talking, flirt that was nearly in the bag with Megan. He was detached. Protected. At least Wally was suppose to be.

"Whoa, calm down man," Robin said putting his hands up. As much as this was freaking him out, Robin was at least glad that he got the good old motor mouth Wally back. "Look let's go through this logically. So last week you were alone with Artemis and..." Robin prompted in an even voice hoping to get the full picture.

"I saw her on the couch, working on her arrows and I don't know I started talking to her-"

"About what?"

"Like that's important! So I was talking to her and we somehow got close and I don't know I leaned in"

"So you initiated it"

"Well, yeah, but she totally was leaning back but then...she wasn't"

"She pulled away?"

"Yes! Okay, yes! Wasn't that obvious!"

"She was the one who rejected you?"

"Yeah she did and I don't know why. And will you stop interrupting me!"

"Sorry"

"Okay so she pulled back, mentioned TV and I left!"

"Why did you leave?"

"Cause she rejected me!" Wally nearly screamed in annoyance. Why couldn't Robin understand that when guys gets rejected they tend not to strike up a friendly conversation with the girl right afterwords.

Robin sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. How was he going to sift through this? "Okay let's start with the obvious question: Do you like her?"

There was a visible shift in the room's atmosphere as Wally stood there silent, his mouth turned to the side slightly.

"It's complicated" Wally mumbled.

Robin was getting very exasperated with this conversation. Jesus, it was like pulling teeth with this boy.

Robin decided to take this from a different approach.

"Do you wish you had kissed her?" Robin said quickly.

"I don't know" Wally answered equally fast. Good, he was taking the bait.

"Do you regret the attempt?" Robin said, keeping the pace.

"Not really" Wally replied immediately, half paying attention to what he was saying.

"Do you want to kiss her again?" Robin shot back.

"Yes" Wally said casually. He then froze blinked for a few seconds and turned to the now smirking Boy Wonder. Wally just got played, and played well.

"You're an ass," Wally said plainly, glaring at the clever younger boy in front of him.

"And you're stupid," Robin shot back. "You like her, you want to kiss her so just find a good moment and do it. Simple as that," He explained as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Little prick.

"But-she-re-jec-ted-me," Wally over enunciated to prove the point, clapping his hands together with each beat.

"So? She was leaning in before, wasn't she. Sometimes it's better to ask forgiveness than permission," Robin didn't know how to make this _any _clearer to the young speedster. He got off the bench and made his way towards the exist.

"Where are you going?" Wally shouted from across the room.

"To hack Supes and Miss. M's alarm clocks," Robin replied as he passed through the door, his childish laugh echoing through the halls.

Could Robin's plan work? Just simply go up to Artemis and kiss her. No choice, no moment to think, let the chips fall as they may. He could definitely sneak up on her, being the fastest boy in the world tended to give him that advantage. He shouldn't rush the moment though. Kissing isn't something that improves with speed. Be in control, show her you care, show her you want to start something. That's a tall order for one kiss. The more Wally thought about it the more he found himself seriously considering it.

Panic shot through him for a moment. He was going to do it. He was going to kiss Artemis. The question that appeared next was 'When?'. When would be the right time, the right way. It couldn't be too soon. He had been ignoring her for a week. Wally needed to re-establish their friendship before he pulled something big. His speedster impatience kicked in though. How long would that take? Become friends with Artemis again, get her ready for a relationship, shouldn't take more than a week, right? Yeah a week would be fine. Okay so first step, look at her, then smile at her, talk to her and was he missing a step here? Nah that should be it. Three steps in seven days and then the big one. Without really realizing it, Wally had just allowed his scientific brain to form a plan for winning Artemis back, however flawed it may be.

These next few days were going to be _very _ interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: This is even shorter than the last chapter and I'm very sorry for that. I tried very hard to add as much as I could to this short scene but this was the best I could do. However I do like several of the analogies and comparisons I added. What, as a reader, has been your favorite line in this so far? Your least favorite? I'm curious. Reviews are appreciated but not required. Enjoy. **

Artemis was seriously confused about Wally's behavior. For a week he did nothing but ignore her and give her the cold shoulder. Artemis felt hurt but was expecting it. She had totally blown him off in a rather abrupt way but Artemis had her reasons but then out of nowhere he started smiling at her, waving at her, greeting her when she walked in the room. Needless to say Artemis was taken aback by his new friendly demeanor. He would ask her to do things with the team, would be the one to call her to dinner if Megan made any, would be slightly more protective over her during missions. She just didn't comprehend what caused him to do this personality back flip. After the third week Artemis saw sadly that this wasn't a temporary change, not some practical joke. He was seriously trying to be more friendly and it made Artemis want to pull her hair out in frustration. She can't become friends with him, she can't allow herself to get close because she'll then want to get closer and when that happens, she will loose control completely, loose sight of the real mission, the real reason she was here. She wanted to confront him about it, tell him to stop it. Say it's best to end this before it starts but she couldn't bare to hurt him more than she already did. Her past hurts her so much, she doesn't need it to hurt someone else. Don't open up. Don't spread around your pain. Just keep working on everything and maybe one day Artemis could relax.

So Artemis tried to ignore Wally for the most part over the weeks, give him no incentive. She focused on her missions and her new school. Artemis was routinely working on her arsenal at least twice a week but now in her room. She found it was the only thing in her life that gave her peace. She was in control of the quality, of the design, she decided what the fate of each arrow would have. She could choose it's destiny. Unlike her own. Artemis sighed and finished tweaking her last arrow. She was tempted to go through them again but that would be her third time today and she didn't want to feel that pathetic. Artemis studied her door for a minute before she shrugged and exited on her way to the kitchen.

Within two seconds of leaving her room Artemis came face to face with Wally who was standing in the hall. A huge smile spread across his freckled face. Artemis' eyes narrowed. Not again, this is the last thing she needs. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. Maybe Wally wasn't being nice to her to be nice to her. Maybe he just wanted to show her he wanted to forget it. Show her he wasn't going to treat her different. He was being nice to her because they were teammates. Act like nothing happened and brush the 'incident' away. Even though minutes ago Artemis wanted this to end, the idea that Wally wanted to let it go too, made her feel worse.

"What do you want West," Artemis snapped, new found anger rising in her voice. She had figured it out, he wanted to back to the status quo? Then that's exactly what she'll do.

"The team's playing air-hockey in the mission room, you want to join us?" he replied, not at all phased with her pissed attitude. Not again, she didn't need him now, especially after Artemis had read through his facade.

Yet a goofy smile was still spread across his face, causing Artemis to second guess her recent epiphany. Argh. Artemis wanted to punch him for all the confusion that he was causing her. She understood when he was arguing with her, that's his personality and his grudge about the whole Red Arrow thing. She understood when he was ignoring her, she would too in his shoes. But Artemis couldn't understand this nice Wally. Surely he still didn't like her? Wasn't 'the incident' enough evidence to drop it? Artemis didn't want to make this clearer. Didn't want to cause more pain than she had already done.

"I'm fine," She breezed passed him on her way to the kitchen to get a snack. She heard footsteps echoing the hall. Artemis turned her head to see Wally following her at normal speed, just a few paces behind her.

"What are you doing?" She barked back towards him.

"Walking," He stated simply, hands in pockets, his face casual with a big smile still plastered on it. Was he mocking her? Artemis scowled and moved a bit faster. New plan. No yogurt. Back to Gotham, she was not going to deal with him anymore.

She changed her course on her way to the zeta-beam transporters. Artemis was walking faster with every step. She just needed to get away from him. Maybe if she moved fast enough she'll leave her feelings splattered on the floor of the halls, not to be analyzed again.

Once Wally noticed her new course he super-speed in front of her causing Artemis to stop abruptly.

"Get out of my way West!" her voice snapped, increasing in volume with every word.

"No," he stated firmly. Shadows covered his face from the under-lit hall. The atmosphere adding the air of seriousness to the situation.

Artemis lost it. "Why are you doing this? Why are you following me? Aren't you suppose to be ignoring me? Ignoring this," she gestured to both of them. "Cause that's what I've been trying to do for weeks and your making it very difficult!"

Artemis immediately wanted to take everything back when she saw his face. It looked broken, cracked in half and empty as if the life had spilled out of it. Artemis felt her own heart wrench when she saw him. Why couldn't she ever bring joy to others? Why was she always the bearer of hate and sadness? Finally there's a guy who smiles because she's in the room, because she exists and it makes him happy and what does she do? Throws it away within minutes. Crushes it before it can grow.

"I," she begins but can't work up the courage to apologize. She's about to try again when Artemis feels hands squeezing her shoulders. Artemis sees Wally's face looking at her. Serious, pained, determined and yet there was a softness in his green eyes that Artemis can't help but blush at.

Wally pulls her closer and before Artemis can comprehend what he's doing, soft lips connect with her own and her mind went blissfully blank. Wally's lips move smoothly and gently against hers, so slowly that Artemis wondered why people have ever called him a speedster. He shifts forward and Artemis finds her back against the sleek metal walls of the hallway. Wally moves one of his hands to touch her cheek and back of her neck. Rubbing small circles along her skin with his thumb. His other hand shifts down to her waist, pulling her even closer towards him. Artemis slowly finds her hands moving up his shirt, to his shoulder, then wrapping around his neck. Wally takes this as a sign to go further and deepens the kiss without warning, causing Artemis to gasp in shock. Though they are moving into more passionate territory Artemis couldn't help but note that every touch was caring and honest.

They eventually pulled away, gasping for air. Wally smiled at Artemis, touching his forehead to hers. Slowly Artemis regained consciousness of exactly what happened. The fog was lifting and the consequences of her actions were staring at her right now, freckles and all.

"I've wanted to do that for a while now," Wally whispered to her in a husky voice, the huge smile never leaving his face, eyes boring into hers. Artemis nearly collapsed into him the way he was staring at her like he wanted to hold her forever. Never let her go. How ignorant.

Artemis pulled her eyes away from him, her arms dropping to her sides. She felt like she could cry for what she was about to do. Artemis breathed in, held it in for a few seconds then exhaled.

"Wally," she started. Her voice sounded like she would break down any second. Like tears could splatter her shirt and she would loose control. Hah. Loose control, what control did she have over her life? Not much comes to mind. No! She had control over nothing, she can't decide her own destiny. She's just a weapon, an arrow for someone else to nock. For _them_ to determine her enemies. For _them _to choose where she would cause pain. Artemis closed her eyes. _That's right little girl just keep spreading the pain._ Her father's taunting voice echoed in her head. Artemis gritted her teeth, fists clenched. You know what? Fuck him! Not today! Not this boy! Artemis opened her eyes and looked back at Wally. His smile was gone, concern filling his face instead.

"I've wanted to do that too. I really like you Wally," she says in an even voice, affection laced in so much it sounded very out of character for her.

Wally blinked for several moments, trying to process exactly what just happened. He decided not to question his suddenly very favorable circumstances. He just hugged her, lifting Artemis off the ground and twirled her in a circle. "I like you too," he whispered simply into her hair. Artemis did a laugh that sounded a little like a sob and finally collapsed into him, not saying anything. They stayed like that for several minutes Just lost in their own little world.

**AN: Like it? I found it very difficult to write kissing scenes. To me there's only so many words you can use unless you want it to sound creepy. I also felt I end this chapter abruptly too but it just fit well. Again please review. Also I wrote another piece called 'Family Matters' that I hope some of you check out.**


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